Travel and discoveries are anchored in my genes. From my parents I learned the curiosity mixed with respect that we owe to the cultures we contemplate when we are foreigners.
I discovered Thailand at 8 years old, it was my first contact with Asia, and I was fascinated. The colors, the smells, the majestic temples and the statues that we venerate. But it was above all the multitude of deities and ancestral and yet still anchored rites that amazed me. Here, gadgets, cell phones and Instagram take nothing away from the fervor of the Thais. it is everywhere in the streets, in the shops, and not only in the temples. It is alive and well, unchanged or almost unchanged for millennia.
I brought back in my suitcases small pieces of these ancestral beliefs, which I mixed with other beliefs, others from periods, other styles, to present to you a collection for this summer full of originality , protective and always unique.
The Buddhism practiced in Thailand, Theravada, is very different from Tibetan Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition and Thai folklore, Thai Buddhist protective amulets are considered talismans of white magic. Blessed by Buddhist monks, they are powerful talismans which protect their wearer and provide them with numerous powers.
Some deities come from Hinduism, characters to whom we pray for success, money, knowledge, but these are beliefs that have mixed with Thai Buddhism.
I help you decode the main deities present in the BLISS in BANGKOK collection.
BUDDHA
The term "Buddha" is often associated with Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha who lived in the 6th century BCE in India. Siddhartha Gautama was a prince who gave up his life of luxury to seek spiritual enlightenment. After many years of meditation and practice, he attained the state of Buddhahood and became the Buddha, which means "the Enlightened One." The historical Buddha is considered the founder of the Buddhist religion and the first Buddha of our era.
Buddha's teachings are based on the Four Noble Truths, namely suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path to ending suffering. The historical Buddha also taught the concepts of karma, reincarnation and compassion towards all living beings.
Buddha Phra Chinnaraj, also called King of Victory, is one of the 3 most renowned and respected Buddhas in Thailand but also in Asia. It is notably found in the temple of Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat located in Phitsanulok.
According to Thai traditions, meditating in front of Phra Chinnaraj Buddha brings peace and offers the opportunity to connect with oneself on a higher level of power.
BHRAMA
He is traditionally represented with four heads and four arms. Each of its heads recites one of the four Vedas. These four faces, according to certain Vedantins, also represent the functioning of one's own personality (antahkarana) which is made up of thoughts. There is the mind, the intellect, the ego, and the conditioned consciousness. It is the symbol of the four ways of functioning of thought; these are the manifestations of blurred consciousness . He holds in his hands a spouted pot used to create life, a rosary called akṣamālā, a book and a sacrificial ladle.
His four heads are explained by the following legend: when he was creating the universe, Brahmā fathered a female deity named Sarasvati . Brahmā immediately fell in love with her. Sarasvati then moved in many directions to avoid Brahmā's insistent gaze. But wherever she went, Brahmâ created a head to be able to continue seeing her. In the end he had five, one for each cardinal direction and one for looking above.
Located in the Pathum Wan district of Bangkok, Erawan Shrine houses a statue of Brahma. Built in 1956, this Hindu sanctuary is very revered in Thailand, having become a place of prayers and offerings.
GANESHA
Commonly known as “The One Who Helps Overcome All Obstacles”, He is a highly recognized and immensely important “leadership figure”, adored in Thailand. He is the God of beginnings and is invoked to begin rites of passages and ceremonies. He is the God of wisdom and intellect as well as the patron God of arts & sciences. Ganesha is the deity most recognized when entering temples and his statues are found in most sacred places in Bangkok.
Ganesha is imbued with symbolic meaning with his exaggeratedly large ears, rounded paunch, broken tusk, and arms that hold elements in each hand. His ears are large because the wise man can thus hear everything. Being a Deity of writing and studies, Ganesha is also depicted holding his broken tusk with his trunk to write letters.
The lotus seen in Ganesha's hands represents spiritual awakening or enlightenment. The goad (ankus) which is used to steer elephants, represents the soul which is diverted from the ignorance and illusions of this earthly world. A “Pasam” (noose rope) represents a weapon against arrogance, vanity and illusions. The ax represents the cutting of old karma. Ganesha's hand can often be seen holding a sign for the blessing of all people. The trunk of an elephant that can both uproot a tree and has the dexterity to pick up a needle, symbolically represents immense strength and keen discernment.
He is the god of knowledge and virtue, the god who removes obstacles, he brings luck and is often invoked before undertaking an important action, to ensure success.
NAGA
The Thai government approved in 2022 the addition of the mythical Naga serpent as Thailand's national symbol. Nagas are a race of reptilian creatures, a kind of giant snakes, semi-divine in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Nagas are an integral part of Thai customs, traditions, arts and culture, and various traditional ceremonies are dedicated to them.
According to Buddhist legends, a naga took human form and tried to follow the teachings of Buddha. But the Buddha saw that the being was not a man and explained to him that his teaching was reserved for humans. The naga then asked the Buddha for a favor, that all people who wish to be monks, should first be called naga before their ordinations. And the Buddha agreed, so in Thailand, people who want to become monks must first dress in white and are called nak (naga) before being ordained.
GARUDA
Garuda is a half-man, half-bird creature from Hindu and then Buddhist mythology, it is the king of birds and the mount of the god Vishnu or Phra Narai in Thai. Garuda being the mount of Vishnu and his incarnations, he becomes the mount of kings Rama and is the symbol of the Thai monarchy.
The representation of Garuda, the Phra Khrut Pha became the emblem of Thailand in 1911.
There are actually dozens of deities worshiped in Bangkok's shrines. Most of their representations can be found at the Talismans market at Wat Ratchanatdaram, in the form of talismans or statuettes...it is a place that does not like to be the attraction of tourists, I was welcomed there with kindness but these amulets are sacred, and I ensure that they begin their new lives here with all the respect they are due.
Find all the pieces imagined from these talismans and other Thai beliefs in the BLISS in BANGKOK collection, exclusively on the e-shop and on the 2nd floor of the BHV from May 3 to 5.